Joe Murray Studio

Joe Murray paints, draws, animates, writes and designs for print, television and film. His television, film and illustration projects are award winning. He also teaches and consults.

The studio is perhaps best known for the creation, development and production of Nickelodeons animated series Rocko's Modern Life,
and Cartoon Network's Camp Lazlo, as well as several character properties for advertising and marketing, children's books, editorial work and festival films.

Category Archives: Animation

Sorry, way too long between posts. Been working on my pilot for PBS which I LOVE LOVE LOVE. It’s turning out better than my expectations, and I feel it’s something that is needed right now children’s programming. Great to work … Continue reading →

Extremely crazy busy. PBS pilot moving forward. Just signed Joan Cusack for the lead role. Very happy about that. Todd Henry sent me his new pre-release copy of his new book “Louder than Words”. I strongly recommend buying it when … Continue reading →

A Return? Hmmmm…. I recently went out of town for a large gathering of PBS producers, content creators and local stations ( my friend the very talented Craig Bartlett was there) and I have returned with a new hope and … Continue reading →

Had a great skype with Todd Henry a couple of weeks ago, author of “Die Empty” and “The Accidental Creative” ( Two books that I highly recommend.) Really down to earth with lots of insightful advice and banter. Had a … Continue reading →

I have not been doing interviews lately, but my old high school newspaper ( Leland High School in San Jose) asked for one recently. I thought I would share it here: 1. What advice would you have for students who … Continue reading →

This is how I feel when I’m animating on Fish Head. Articulated very nicely by craftsman Osama Nakamura: “A craftsperson’s job is half meditation, half creation. It takes creativity to design whatever you are working on, but it takes meditation … Continue reading →

The Auteur Approach I recently watched Miyazaki’s final feature film “The Wind Rises” again as well as the Studio Ghibli documentary “Kingdom of Dreams and Madness”, and yes, I’m saddened by the end of Miyazaki’s films, but something more important … Continue reading →

Racing to the End? Or Enjoying the Process? Sometimes I think that my independent film work is the yin to the yang of television work. It’s polar opposite. Television work races to the finish. It’s all about the volume. It … Continue reading →